Back in 1991, while our New York fashion accessories sales rep showroom,
Accessory Brainstorms, Inc., was figuring its way out of a national recession,
we received a call from an editor of ACCESSORIES magazine about a great new
hair invention called Topsy Tail™!, that was not a
hair accessory but a hair tool.

The inventor, Tomima Edmark, had convinced the editor that
the Topsy Tail™ had the potential to turn the accessories industry on
its head and create a sales revolution despite the fact that it was only selling
in a few boutiques at that time. The editor, knowing a good thing when she
saw it, advised Dallas based Tomima to secure a New York sales rep that would
sell it into the major department stores and provided her with several recommendations.
Tomima selected Accessory Brainstorms, as we were already focusing on ‘out
of the box’ accessory items that would get the media's attention
and drive sales in the weak economy, We immediately reached out to buyers
to introduce them to the product wonder that turned a ponytail inside out
to make numerous beautiful hairstyles.

Meanwhile Tomima, a former marketing person for IBM, was busy at work securing
a Direct Response TV (DRTV) deal. Topsy Tail™ would become the first
fashion accessory to appear on a television commercial. Topsy Tail™
had all the makings of a successful DRTV campaign. It catered to a huge demographic
--‘anyone who can ponytail can Topsy Tail™ was inexpensive to
produce, it could be marked up for profit many times and still be offered
at less than $20, it’s effect made people feel special and more attractive,
it was simple to use, and had an element of magic. At about the same time
of establishing the TV connection Tomima hired a New York public relations
firm with credentials in promoting both fashion accessory and beauty products,
to deliver the news on Topsy Tail™ into the hands and heads of American
girls and women.

Even before the TV and PR campaign took hold, the department stores responded
and orders started to roll in. Only Bloomingdales buyers turned down the Topsy
Tail™, stating it did not fit into their product mix. When the media
exposure did hit all hell broke loose. The department stores placed reorders
for monthly deliveries for up to a year out. One morning we received an urgent
telephone message from the top executive at Bloomingdales asking us to call
their buyers ‘As soon as possible!’

Tomima had also hired sales reps in other key markets nationally. She had
all targets covered. The orders were coming in so fast and furiously that
she could no longer run the operation from her garage. She was running out
of funds to produce the goods. A decision had to be made on how to keep up
with demand. She formed an alliance with a DRTV company to fund the production
of goods (allowing Tomima to retain oversight of quality control), run the
TV campaign worldwide and oversee distribution

In addition, she established an extensive network of outsourced vendors
to deal with everything from manufacturing to servicing retail stores; keeping
her own company very small (3 full time employees) and creating an economy
of scale. By allowing herself to focus on what she did best—which was
creating the Topsy Tail™ , and effectively managing the business, she
was able to capitalize on her whirlwind dream.

This tsunami of sales continued for well over a year in the US and reached
into international markets as well. In the summer of ’92 while on vacation
in Barcelona I was watching TV in my hotel room and lo and behold a Topsy
Tail™ commercial appeared on CNN! After a year and a half, just as Topsy
Tail™ had thundered into the marketplace, the storm had run its course.

The market was saturated and was ready for the next ‘big thing’
which was to be the HAIRDINI ™ , (but that’s another story.) By
that time, Topsy Tail™ had generated over $100 million in sales to take
its place as the best selling hair invention in history.

Joan Lefkowitz, an original marketer of TopsyTail™, is president of ACCESSORY BRAINSTORMS, NYC, a licensing agency, sales representative and consultancy for Fashion/Beauty Accessoryand Lifestyle Inventions. Accessory Brainstorms is always looking for inventions in these categories, and offers one-on-one consulting.ACCESSORIES Magazine awarded Joan for “Most Inventive Products” and cited her as one of the 100 most important accessories industry “Movers and Shakers”.Contact at www.accessorybrainstorms.com.